Secret unit army officer alleges harassment

An army officer, who was part of General VK Singh's controversial secret intelligence unit, has threatened to commit suicide, alongwith his teenage daughter, because of alleged harassment by current army chief, General Bikram Singh.

In an SMS to top army brass in New Delhi on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel AS Bariyawal said his plea for a posting on 'compassionate grounds' had been deliberately turned down over the past two years, driving him to think about taking the extreme measure.

Lt. Colonel Bariyawal, a military intelligence corps officer, is posted in Deolali, close to Nashik in Marashtra. He has won the President's gallantry medal (Sena Medal) for his operations in Northeast, when his unit rescued the wife of an Ulfa peacenik, held captive in Myanmar by the outfit in 2008. The officer was believed to have played a key role in facilitating the 2008 ceasefire of between the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Centre. He was handpicked by General VK Singh for Technical Support Division (TSD), the secret intelligence unit.

In his message to army headquarters, Lt. Colonel Bariyawal has alleged that his plea on compassionate grounds has fallen on deaf ears in the Army headquarters because he worked with the TSD created by General Singh.